About an hour had passed. Dante was searching for the snakes he wanted in an area resembling a swamp, a small lake surrounded by trees.
These snakes usually make their nests at the base of trees, especially one called Pileus Faey, which produces an orange fruit that is extremely poisonous. Additionally, the tree's sap tends to flow inside, serving as a nutritious substance for the snakes.
Unfortunately, the fruit gives off a very strong smell that repels animals, making it almost impossible to use it unnoticed.
At that moment, Dante was digging at the base of the trees to see if there were any nests. So far, he had already found two nests and killed three adult snakes.
However, he still wanted to find a pseudo-spiritual snake, like himself at level 0.5, and kill it stealthily.
It was difficult, though. The environment was silent but chaotic: the sound of flowing water alerted him from time to time, snakes slithered and hissed, and the treetops swayed, making everything extremely tense.
Dante persisted in his search, but soon he had to give up, as the smell of the already dead snakes would attract countless beasts from the swamp, and exhausting himself was not part of his plan.
So he quickly left the swamp, for now it was time to choose which beast he should set his plan against.
It had to be a large but weak beast so that he could defeat it, put his plan into action, and intimidate it toward the lion's den.
Running across the treetops and spotting countless beasts, he considered several possibilities, but one in particular was perfect: Spotted-Skin Goat. A common beast, but violent and completely foolish, as it tends to fight in any situation.
Dante made a quick assessment: he had about 20 pseudo-spiritual arrows in his quiver, and one arrow tipped with Diamantina, from a level 1 miner. It was still a pseudo-spiritual arrow but with greater piercing power.
Dante then advanced. Since he began this hunt, he realized he did not feel a shred of sympathy when killing; he simply did what was necessary, like a robot.
As he approached the beast, he delivered a brutal punch to the goat's throat, cutting off its air. Before a cry of despair could come, an elbow struck its head, knocking it unconscious.
Watching this, Dante clenched his hands like a true hunter, feeling his strength surge in excitement.
The plan was relatively simple: he wanted to use this to take out one of the lion's eyes, depending on the goat's immobilization and the Diamantina arrow.
Dante extracted the bile from the five snakes he had caught in the swamp, all adults, but unfortunately none pseudo-spiritual. From one, he kept only the skin, while from the others he took only the meat.
To make a simple covering, he combined the bile in one of the skins and tied it, then wrapped snake meat around it. Forming what looked like a meatball, he would send it into the goat's throat to be swallowed, but preventing digestion, so that when the lion ate the goat, the venom would spread fully through its body, and not act separately.
Only one thing remained for the start of the hunt: traps. He wanted to remove one of the lion's eyes at this moment, but it was still the first day, so he had to prevent the lion from chasing him.
If Dante was not mistaken, there was a lion cub in the cave. If he could lure another predator to take the blame, it would be perfect.
However, it was probably impossible: no being below level 1 would challenge this lion. It was limited to 1 star, and he could end up attracting a level 1 predator with 2 or 3 stars.
His mind filled with thoughts, but no plausible option presented itself. All that remained was to flee.
And so the hunt began. Dante took the unconscious goat and brought it near the lion's territory. As soon as the beast woke, it began to roar in pain and surprise.
The goat, aware, sensed the lion's smell and decided to run toward it, horns fully pointed forward as if heading for a deadly duel.
"What an idiotic animal," Dante thought, watching from the treetop. At first, he expected the goat to sense the lion and flee, but after the noise in its territory, the lion would give chase.
Yet the goat instinctively charged the lion, which worried Dante; this could alarm the beast and prevent it from eating the goat. After all, felines are probably the most naturally equipped predators.
Cold sweat began to pour from Dante as the lion rose and started dodging, seemingly slapping the goat.
While observing, Dante noticed something: a small lion cub appeared, seemingly roaring at the goat in a cute tone — Dante couldn't hear it, but the goat could. It attacked the cub aggressively, and of course, the adult lion reacted violently. Before the goat reached the cub, a bite cracked bone, making Dante recoil in fear.
What came next was truly terrifying: the lion straightened, colossal, and the treetops shook under its strength. Dante's heart raced uncontrollably; his hands, previously steady on the bow, began to slip from sweat.
This was fear. He was the true hunter. And finally, Dante understood.